The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off trading after the Eid holidays on a strong note, driven by optimism over a possible diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East conflict. On Tuesday morning, the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by more than 1,600 points in early trading.
At 10:50am, the benchmark KSE-100 Index was trading at 154,358.00, a gain of 1,617.63 points or 1.06%.
Gains were seen across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation. Heavily weighted stocks such as DGKC, HBL, MCB, FFC, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, and PSO all traded in positive territory.
In contrast, the previous week had been challenging for the PSX, which recorded its eighth consecutive weekly decline. Investor sentiment remained cautious due to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a mixed domestic economic outlook.
Meanwhile, global oil prices moved higher on Tuesday amid supply concerns. Iran denied engaging in talks with the United States to end the Gulf conflict, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s claim that a deal might be imminent.
As a result, Brent crude rose by $4 (4%) to $103.94 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $3.49 (4%) to reach $91.62.
